I would recommend Pilot as a vocation for anyone who wants to fly for a living. I would also suggest they look into the many avenues of pursuing flight as a career and the many diverse careers available. If their dream is to be that stiff-backed triple breasted flying god dragging a rollerboard, I would suggest they go for it and simultaneously temper their expectations and be prepared for the possibility of that not working out due to industry vagaries.

While triple breasted flying god is a great job, to spend a life wallowing in the effort to get there while not enjoying the craft of flight is a huge waste. Some folks get there quick and some folks never get there. We all need to be prepared for whatever path results from the culmination of outside forces and our own actions.

I would also recommend a year spent under airplanes with a bottle of Simple Green and a brush as a healthy way to appreciate whatever job in the cockpit one happens to land.

Pilot for fun - yes

Pilot to be paid- absolutely not! By the time you get in this there will probably be an age 67 extension. Another 2 years down the tube. It's not what it used to be and there are too many pilots to get back to that lifestyle.

To the OP:

There are a couple of common themes that make their way through the threads on any aviation website, including this one: first, try to do this debt-free or as close to it as you can get, and second, the folks who have made a career switch from something else to flying tend to be more appreciative of what the airline lifestyle has to offer.

There are a lot of highs and lows, it's a very dynamic industry, and a lot of things can go wrong...but a lot of things can go right. In the end, it's a gamble, and I think that's what upsets a lot of the folks on here. They feel like they placed a [huge] bet, and lost.

Well said!

It is what you make it... If flying is your "everything", then of course if it doesn't pan out you will feel devastated and bitter. Thats why pilots should strive towards alternate sources of income. Start a business, pick up a trade skill, etc. There are a ton of things out there to be successful at part time. Real estate, insurance adjusting, and appraising are all good side jobs and inexpensive to get into.

Nope, absolutely not.

How can you afford a family as a student pilot?

Of course, follow you dream, but be smart, military or on your own, DO NOT as mentioned before student loan it, and one step further DO not go to some BS aeronatical university that only caters to foreigners and those not wise enought to go to a real collage lol get an engineering degree from a university :) do those things and you will weather the storm much better,

I would not "recommend" or encourage it, but would point out the numerous pitfalls. Some folks are going to do it it regardless of what anyone says, so need to try t talk fence-sitters into the profession.

Military is 'whole different conversation though. A military guy might with luck be able to make a smooth transition to the majors after 10 or 20 (or even 30). years, but that's not the main factor to consider for active duty. If you want to do military-to-airlines, join the ANG.

My grandfather retired as a Northwest captain and my father is a current Delta captain and they are the two happiest guys on the planet!